Leaving NKorea, Rodman calls Kims 'great leaders'

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Ending his unexpected round of basketball diplomacy in North Korea on Friday, ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman called leader Kim Jong Un an "awesome guy" and said his father and grandfather were "great leaders."Rodman, the highest-profile American to meet Kim since he inherited power from father Kim Jong Il in 2011, watched a basketball game with the authoritarian leader Thursday...

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Johnson back on top with 2nd Daytona 500 victory

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson went two years without a title and suddenly became an afterthought at the Daytona 500.All the attention went to Danica Patrick and a handful of other drivers.Not that it mattered Sunday, because look who pulled into Victory Lane.Five-time is back. Not that he ever went away.Johnson won his second Daytona 500 on Sunday, a year after he completed just one lap...

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France's Pinturault wins World Cup giant slalom

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — Alexis Pinturault of France used a daring second run to win a World Cup giant slalom Sunday as his closest German challengers faltered.Pinturault was second after the first heat, behind hometown favorite Felix Neureuther and ahead of Fritz Dopfer. But Dopfer crashed out in the second run and Neureuther made a mistake that dropped him down to 12th in the ranking....

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Hufner wins final luge World Cup meet

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Olympic luge champion Tatjana Hufner edged out two other Germans to win the women's singles in the final World Cup meet of the season, a test event for the Sochi Winter Games next year.Natalie Geisenberger, the current world champion and Olympic bronze medalist, finished second in Saturday's meet, but had already won the overall World Cup before the competition started. Anke Wischnewski...

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Prosecutors: Pistorius top cop should be dropped

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Prosecutors reinstated attempted murder charges against a policeman leading the murder investigation into world-famous athlete Oscar Pistorius, in the latest twist in a case that has captivated South Africa and threatens to bring down a national idol.The announcement that detective Hilton Botha faces reinstated charges in connection with a 2011 shooting incident came...

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Police: No inconsistencies in Pistorius account

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — A police detective testified at Oscar Pistorius' bail hearing Wednesday that authorities have not found any inconsistencies in the star athlete's description of his shooting of his girlfriend — a killing Pistorius says was accidental but which prosecutors call murder.The second day of the bail hearing in a case that has riveted South Africa and much of the world appeared...

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Pistorius says no intentions to kill girlfriend

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius told a packed courtroom Tuesday that he shot his girlfriend to death by mistake, thinking she was a robber. The prosecutor called it premeditated murder.The double amputee said in an affidavit read by his lawyer at his bail hearing that he felt vulnerable because he did not have on his prosthetic legs when he pumped bullets into the locked bathroom door....

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Oscar Pistorius faces bail hearing in murder case

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Oscar Pistorius faces a bail hearing Tuesday and Wednesday, in which prosecutors explain why they've charged the Olympian with murder over the Valentine's Day shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.Pistorius hasn't entered a plea in the case, though his family has said they strongly deny the 26-year-old double-amputee runner committed murder. They have not, however, denied...

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No. 2 Duke falls to Maryland 83-81

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — As the final horn sounded and Maryland fans rushed the court to celebrate a rare victory over its bitter rival, weary Duke had just enough energy left to escape the mayhem for the safety of its locker room.Seth Allen broke a tie by making two free throws with 2.8 seconds left, and the Terrapins stunned the second-ranked Blue Devils 83-81 Saturday night to end a six-game skid...

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Pistorius' uncle says athlete 'numb with shock'

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is "numb with shock, as well as grief" after the shooting death of his model girlfriend at his home in South Africa, the runner's uncle said Saturday, as his family "strongly refutes" that he planned to kill her.Arnold Pistorius spoke with The Associated Press and two other South African journalists about his nephew's arrest for the killing...

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Pistorius statement disputes he committed murder

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius held his head in his hands and wept openly in court Friday as prosecutors said they would pursue a charge of premeditated murder against the Paralympic superstar.Pistorius was formally charged at Pretoria Magistrate's Court with one count of murder after his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, a model and budding reality TV show contestant. The 30-year-old was...

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Olympian Pistorius charged with murder

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Paralympic superstar Oscar Pistorius was charged Thursday with the murder of his girlfriend who was shot inside his home in South Africa, a stunning development in the life of a national hero known as the Blade Runner for his high-tech artificial legs.Reeva Steenkamp, a model who spoke out on Twitter against rape and abuse of women, was shot four times in the predawn...

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Player regrets getting entangled with match-fixing

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Soccer player Mario Cizmek thought it would just be one match. Ease up and let the other team win, he told himself, then collect the payoff and start paying off your debts.But the broke and desperate athlete soon learned that one match wouldn't do it. He would have to throw another game, then another, then another.And so it went until, in what he described as his "worst moment,"...

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IOC drops wrestling from 2020 Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — IOC leaders dropped wrestling from the Olympic program on Tuesday, a surprise decision that removes one of the oldest Olympic sports from the 2020 Games.The IOC executive board decided to retain modern pentathlon — the event considered most at risk — and remove wrestling instead from its list of 25 "core sports."The IOC board acted after reviewing the 26 sports on the...

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Snedeker on the rise with Pebble win

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Everything about Brandt Snedeker moves at warp speed, including his rapid rise into golf's elite.He talks so fast that he always seems to be a few words short of a complete sentence. He plays fast, giving his hips a quick swivel to set his position before pulling the trigger. Even his putts go into the hole quickly, most of them struck with purpose instead of hope.But when...

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Michigan, Kansas go down as run continues

There goes another one, and another one.No. 3 Michigan, fifth-ranked Kansas and No. 11 Louisville all lost on Saturday, continuing a perilous stretch for the Top 25.The Wolverines became the third top-three team to fall this week when Ben Brust hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with less than 40 seconds left in overtime, leading Wisconsin to a 65-62 victory. Brust also tied the game at the end of regulation...

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Norway's Svindal wins downhill at Alpine worlds

SCHLADMING, Austria (AP) — Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway won the men's downhill title at the Alpine skiing world championships Saturday after a powerful run down the Planai course that no one came close to matching.Watched by 33,000 spectators, Svindal kept a near-perfect line down the icy and bumpy 3.33-kilometer course despite foggy conditions that caused problems for several other skiers.The Norwegian...

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Illini buzzer-beater upsets No. 1 Hoosiers, 74-72

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — At this rate, no one will want to be No. 1.Indiana became the fifth straight top-ranked men's college basketball team to lose, falling to unranked Illinois 74-72 on a buzzer-beater by Tyler Griffey on Thursday night.The senior forward took an inbounds pass with 0.9 seconds to play and made a wide-open layup. And, just like that, the Hoosiers — who moved into the top spot by...

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